Improvement in machinery for sewing books



iiinted gaat DAVID MGOONNELL SMYTHI, UF ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HENRY G.

THOMPSON, 0F NEW YORK Ol'lY, AND REUNE MARTIN, 0F

J ER-SEY.

Letters Patent No. 91,175, dated June 8, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING BOOKS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, DAVID MeOoNNELL SMY'rn, of Orange, in the county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Sewing Books and Pamphlets; and l do hereby declare that the tbllowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereot, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, niaking part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represenisa folded sheetef paper, with the folded edge notched, and also one such sheet opened out ready to be operated upon; i I

Figure 2 is a. plan of the machine.;

Figure 3, a front elevation;

Figure 4, an elevation of the left side of the machim .l

Figures 5 and 6, sections taken in the vertical planes of thfl lines A a and B b of tig. 3, and lookiugin the direction ol thc arrows;

Figure 7 is a separate view oi' one i ne arms of the rocking-fiamc for operating the assistant folder;

Figure i; are separate views ol' the rst needle;

hignre il, a separate view of one oi' the other needles with the band, and as the sewed book is being taken otl'; and

Figure 10, a separate view o` the hook for carrying the thread in front ol' the needles.

The same letters indicate likel parts in all the iigures.

The object ot' my invention is to sew and unite the several. sheets to constitute a book or pamphlet.

'lhe l'olded sheets which arc to i.b'e connected or sewed together, to constitute a book ior pamphlet, are put together, and a series of notclxes, u., cut across the baek-lblded edge, as for sewing by. hand, three such notches being represented in the accompanying drawings. The number may be varied.

The notches so cut form holes in Jthe sheets when opened out, as represented in lig. 1 ot' the accompanying drawings. i

The pile of sheets so notched is placed upon a feedin gtabh, b, with the notched back edges against a vertical plate, c, which is part oi' the frame.`

Ther-Ll is another plate, similar to c, marked d. The two are parallel, and the scwing-imechanism is mounted between them.

At the back oi' the plated there is a receiving-table, c, similar to the hauling-table b, and this table c is for receiving the sheets as they are in succession turned over and sewed.

lt is essential to the opera-lion ot' the machine that the reccivingtablc c should descend at cach operation to an extent equal lo the thickness o1'l a folded sheet; and it is a matter ol' convenience t-o the operator that the ieding-iahle b should rise as the receiving-table descends, and to about the same extent, so that the top o i' the pile may be at the same elevation at all times during the operation of the machine.

To effect this, the two tables are secured cach to the upper ends of two rods, f j', adapted to slide accurately in suitable holes in the plattbrm g of the frame, and the. lower faces ei the lower ends of these rods are cogged racks, which engage on opposite sides of two cog-wheels, h, (only one shown in the drawings,) on a horizontal shaft, fi, provided with a handle, j, by which the operator can move the two tables at pleasure to any desired elevation.

The mechanism, to be hereafter described, by which the sheet-s are turned over during the operation of' sewing, is sufficient to depress the receiving-table to the required distance to suit the thickness ot' the (olded sheets, as the ii'iction of the moving,r parts is they only resistance to be overcome in moving ythe tables; but as this friction might become insullicient to hol'l the table steady, it is deemed best to apply a spring. It, to press againstI the rods fj, with a temper-screw Z, to regulate the friction.

Immediately back of the vertical plate (l there. is a series of needles, m. The number and their distance apart should correspond with the number of' notches cnt in the back-folded edge ot' the sheets to be svwed. Three are represented in the accompaning drawings.

These needles have eyes at their upper ends, all but the first, to receive the bands, as they are term ed by book-binders, that is, threads for completing the tie alter the required number ot' sheets has been sewed, and after they are discharged from the machine, but which alle passed through the eyes of the said needles after the required number of sheets has been sewed, and bet'ore the sheets are removed. Such a baud is represented by red lines on one ci" the needles in ig. 9.

All but the tirst oi'thesc needles are held at their lower ends by a clamp, u, or equivalent means, a s -rewclamp being deemed best, as that is a convenient i; cans i'or changing the number and distance apart el the needles.

The receiving-table has a long mortise, o, thi l)ugh which the needles pass, so that it can move u] and down without interfering with them.

The lirst ofthe series ot' needles is short and sh ghtly curved, and has a i'lat shank, p, at right angles t 1 the general line, by which it is attached to a rocker, y, on a rock-shaft, lr, and the rocker is provided,\v.th a s1 ring, s, the tension ot' which holds the needle in line with the upper end ofthe other needles, but which wil' permit it to yield ibrward when required.

lhe rocker q can slide on its shat't r, l'oradjnst nent to sheets ot' diticrent sizes, and when set is heid in place by a set-screw.

ORANGE, NEW

In sewing with this machine, three threads are used, besides the bauds, on all the needles exceptthe first of the series.

One of these threads, (scc lig. 2,) marked t, from a spool, u, mounted on any suitable part of the machine, passes through a guide, r, and thence to the carrier w of a travelling-hook, to be hereafter described, so that it may travel with thesaid carrier, and from this through a guide-linie in the rocker q of the first needle, and thence along a groove in the back of the needle, to

n and through the eye to the front of the needle, where it is held by the hand of the attendant, or hitched to anything until it is tied in with the other threads.

The other two threads, termed the biruling-tln-eads, and marked :aand y, (see fig. 3,) are drown, as required, from tuo spools, z z, suitably mounted on the frame, and pass through tivo gnide-eyes, al al, and between the two eyes each thread passes through an eye in a spring or weighted slide, b, there being one such for each thread to take up thc slack, and from the guideeyes al a' the threads pass through guides c c, one in front of the first, and the other in front of the last of the series of needles; and from thc guides c' c these binding-threads pass through eyes in the outercnd ot two short arms, d d', in front of the series of needles, (only one shown in the drawing, iig. 6,) on a rod, c', which is mounted so as to slide longitudinally in the rocking frame of the assistant folder, to be hereafter described.

These two arms, d* d, are to be placed as far apart as the distance between the first and last needles of the series; and to admit of adjusting them when the needles are shifted, they are made to embrace the rod,

to which they are secured, and heldin position thereon by screws. Y

At the beginning of the operation the loose ends of the two threads x y are hitched to anything, or held by hand.

The -edingtable,the pile of sheets, and the receiving- Y table, having been brought to the required elevation,

the top sheet of the pile is opened out by the attendaut, and slipped on to the series of needles, the notches a out into the folded edges of the sheets, forming holes, to slip on tu the needles when the sheets are opened Out.

The sheet of paper, when so opened out, is over the threads z and t, and over that part of the thread t which has been passed through the eyc-of the first .of the needle. As this needle is curved, the thread is at some distance from the bodyof the needle, that it l may be readily taken by the hook.

The hook just referred to, indicated by the letter g', projects from the. back and near the end of a rod, h', attached to a carrier, i', which slides in ways j, at one end of and parallel with the plates c and d, before referred to; and both ends of this rod slide in guides k k, one at each end of the ways j.

A reciprocating motion is given to the carrier t" and rod h by a staff, l', the upper cud of which is connected with the earlier, and the lower end pivoted to a bracket, m, of the flame. And the said staff has an arm, n, projecting from its lower end at right angles, which arm is connected by a joint-link, o', with a tren/die, p', by which tho operator, n .lh the l'oot, can give thc required longitudirral motion to the carrier and rod, thc return motion being given by a spring, q'. Other equivalent means for operating the hook-rod may bc substtuted.

When the rod h is moved inthe direction of thc :trrows, (see fig. 2,) its hook y', inpassing in front ofthe first nc.-dle,catclres the thread t, and, drawing it from the spool, through the eye ofthe first needle, carries it double iu front of the other needles. and over the sheet of paper, until it approaches the last needle of the se ries, and then the hook is lifted, and moved slightly back to lift and drop the thread over the last needle.

To effect this result, the rod h' must have some spr-ing, and that portion of it which extends beyond the hook has a lip, s', which cornes'iu cmitact with and rides upon au inclined plane or cam-face,vt, which lifts the hook h. And the cam-face is provided/with an oblique face, u', which at the same time pushes the rod back, so that the hook ll passes over the upper end of tlrc needle, to carry the thread around it, and then the lip s of the rod passes beyond the cam-face, and drops bythe spring of the rod, leaving the tlwead single around that needle, and double in front of the other needles. one end of it being in the eye of' the first needle, and the othdr end of it throu htlre hole in the sheet in which the first needle is, au extended below the sheet.

The rod h' is tiren drawn back, to be ready for the next operation.

A spring, c', may be placed, as represented, over the cum-face t', to steady the end of the rod h during the said movements,`arid prevent it from vibrating.

In that condition, the sheet is 'to he folded, that is, the half sheet which rests on the assistant folder, is to be turned over on to the other half, which rests on the receiving-table, and after that is effected all the needles, instead of being in the holes of the sheet, as when it was applied in the unfolded state, are found in the notches cut in the folded edge of the sheet, the thread t being around the last needle of the' series, and extending double within the folded edge of' the sheet, and in front of the intermediate needle or needles, if more than three in all are used, and one end of the said thread through the eye of tborfirst needle, and the other out through the notch at the first needle to the place where it was hitched, or into the next preceding sheet after more than one sheet has been applied.

As the needles project some distance above the level of the sheet when first put on, before the sheet can be folded, itis necessary to lift it up uearlyto the level of the upperl end of the needles, otherwise the holes in the sheet could not pass over the upper end of the needles. The sheet is lifted at the same time that that half of it which was ou the assistant folder is turned over to make tlrc fold.

The mechanism by which these operations are per formed consists of what I term lifters and folders, w', and assistant folder x'.

The lifters and folders w receive motion from two vertical rods, y y', which pass through holes in the platform of the flame, and extend above and below it.

Above this platfbrrn, the vertical rods are fastened to two crossbars, z', to the upper one of which the liftcrs and folders are secured, and their lower ends are pivoted to thc front ends of two levers, a.2 a, that rock, not with, but on the horizontal shaft t, before described, the other arms of' the said levers being firmly secured to a bar, b, the whole forming a roeking frame; and the said bar b2 is connected by a rod..

c1; with a treadle, d, by the depression of which the litters and folders are elevated, a spring, c, being connected with thc bar b, for the purpopc of' restoring the parts to their original position so soon as the treadle is liberatori.

The litters and folders are thin plates, one for euch needle., and notched at their front edges, so as to extend on each side of, and to a short distance back of' the needles, and when depressed, rest on, and hold down the sheet, w ich has been turned over before.

As the lifter-s :rd folders are elevated, they are drawn forward fron thc needles by two cam-faces f',

f 2, connected with the frarnc, one at each end, the two vertical rodsl y 1/ being suflioiently flexible to yield,

and being provided with spur y? y,l one for cach rod. rlhese spurs passin t'ront l[fi latam-faces in rising, by which the litters are dr wn fijoiin* the needles, and as soon Aas the litters are arid up higher thanthe upper ends ofthe needles, the p rs pass over the npper ends of the cam-faces, au back of them, by the spring ot' the rods, aided, if required, by a spring, h2, which bears against the lower connecting-bar z. The litters are thereby moved toward the needles to partially fold the. sheet.

The rods y' y' are then drawn down by the tension of the spring c", before describ d, and as they descend, the lifters carry down and complete the folding ot the sheet of paper, and there hold it until the next operation. As the rods and lift-`rs are drawn down, the spurs y2 g2 pass behind the cid 'aces flf", which vield forward to permit the spurs tp pass, the cam-faces being pivoted, at their upper ci ds, to the frame, vand being provided with springs ip ti'ont, to force them back to their original positions, so soon as the' spurs on the rods get down to their lowest position to be ready for the next liiting-operation.

As the needles arenot hooked at their upper ends, the litters, in operating to turn over the half sheet to make the fold, have a tendency to lift the sheet over the points of the needles, and ythus to mar the operalo prevent this, there is an assistant folder, which, in the preferred form, is a platea, but a rod or rods would answer the purpose, whicl plate lies under that halt' of the sheet of paper whichiis in front of the needles; and as the lit'ters begin to rise, that edge of the plate nearest the needles is. carried over the points ot' the needles with a motion mnchi more rapid than thc lifting-motion of the lifters, and by this motion the said plate turns the halt' sheet over on to the pile on the receiving-table, and there holds it until the lifters have completed the fold. r t

lhe edge of this assistant f Ider, after it has turned over the half sheet, makes pr ssnre on it at a sntiicient distance back ofthe needles not to conflict with the operation ofthe lifters in coidpleting the fold.

The plate w is attached toa rod, j, which connects the outer ends of two arms, k2 It, constituting a rocking-trame', the said arms being pivoted, at their inner ends, to the frame, a -little forward of the line of the needles.

One of the said arms is connected with -a spring, l?, by the tension of whichthe rocking-frame is returned after the tblding-operation; and the motion for the blding-operation is imparted to' the'other'of the saidI arms by the upper end of a stud, m, whichacts against the under face of the said arm 1:,uear to the axis on which it rocks, to give'the assistant folder the required rapid rocking motion. i i

The stud m2 slides in suitable ways, and is attached to the lower bar z,'which connects' the lifter-rods y y' so that themotions of the litters and folders, and the assistant folder, are derived fromhe same source.

As before stated, the two binding-tllreads a: and y pass through the eyes of two sho t arms d1 LZ, which slide with a rod, e', of the rockingftrarue ofthe assistant folder, and .before the first sheet to be sewed is put on to the needles, the endslof, these threads are hitched to some part of the machine beyond the needles, and on the right or left side of `the first and of the last needle. i

After the thread t has been operated hy the hook, as above described, and the sheet has been folded, the binding-threads are to be carried each around its appropriate needle.

'lo properly understand the operation, let it be supposed that thc' two binding-threads are each onthe left side of their appropriate needles, and the short arms, which carry these threads, to be forward of the needles. As the rocking frame ot' the assistant folder moves back to turn over the sheet, the two short arms d' rl carry the two hunting-threads to the rear 'of the needles, and on the same side which carries the two binding-threads around the folded edge of the sheet which contains the thread previously carried by the hook.

'.Lhe arms ll d are then moved laterally to the right ofthe needles, and when thc assistant folder is returned to its original forward position, the arms dl rll are moved tin-ward of the needles, but, by reason of having been shifted from the left to the right side of the needles, the bhnling-threads are thereby passed around the needles.

As before stated, when the 'arms d* rl' are carried forward beyond the needles at the time of folding the sheet, they passed onthe left side of the needles, and are then moved laterally to the right, so as to pass on the right of the needles in returning.

At the next opei'ation, in moving forward, they pass on the right'side of the needles, are then shifted to the left, and return on the left side of the needles, so that the binding-tln'eads pass from the under side of the tirst sheet, around the folded edge of that sheet, around the needles to the right side, around the folded edge of the next sheet, then around the needles from the right to the left, and so on successively from left to right, and from right to left, the said arms d ll' being shifted at each operation from one side tothe other, but after the forward, and at the tim(` of beginning the return motion, and before the arms d* d* pass thc needles.

lhe preferred mechanism tor effecting this result is as follows:

The rod el, which carries the said arms d d', is fitted to slide in the arms of the rocking frame of the assistant folder, and one end of it is pivoteil to.l the middle of a small lever, n?, tig. 7, the outer end of which has a slot, which turns and slides on a fulcrumpin on ,the face of one of the arms of the said rocking frame. c

The inner end of the said lever is in turn pivoted to the end of what may be termed a double tilting-cam,

o2, having two cam or wedge-formed faces, as represented in lig. 7, and the said tilting-cam is pivoted to the under face of the said arm of the rocking frame, so that when the said double camis tilted, it will shift the thread-carrying arms, iirst to the right and then to the left, and tice tersa.

'lo the bar which carries the ylifters, and moving up and down with them, is pivoted a dog, p2, with a projecting piu, q2, (see Figure 7,) which is to act alternately on opposite sides of the tilting-cam. And this dog is heldin position by'a spring, fr, (see fig. 3,) which bears against a square-faced projection on its side, so that it may yield and be brought back by the tension of the spring, as a knife-blade.

At the time the litters rise, the arm of the rocking frame of the assistant folder is in a horizontal position, and the dog p2, in rising, moves at right anglei thereto, so that when it reaches the arm of the rocking frame, it takes ou the right or left side of the tiltingcam, according to the side to which it was moved during the previous operation.

When the assistant folder has turned over tln` sheet, the under face of the arm, to which the tilting cam is pivoted, is then ina vertical position, and by the side ofthe dog p2, so that asthe lifters are depressed, the pin rf ou thedog p2 acts on one face ofthe tilting-cam to shift the arms d* d' to one side, and at the next operation the dog will act on the other side to reverse the motion, and so on.A

lt will be remembered that all the needles, except the. first, carry each what is termed a band, and that when the needles are withdrawn, these band'J remain 

